March 2011

This was the first 100 Drawings drawing that was commissioned by someone. Not so much in directing content, so much as “hey, I wanna buy your next of 100 Drawings”. The buyer wanted something for his artist sketchbook, which he is apparently filling up with the work of several artists he likes. After a series of emails, arrangements were made, the paper was shipped, and I got started.

This one was definitely fun. You may recall I’ve been yammering about getting back to basics and make 100 Drawings actually about DRAWINGS. Well, this was my chance. Since the paper was from the buyer’s sketchbook, it wouldn’t be able to handle heavy acrylic buildup, so I had to stay relatively simple. Of course, I hit a point where the drawing was just screaming for more color, so I broke out the watercolors and gouache. The result was Pony on My Mind. The title actually refers to how much the word “pony” has come into my daily language, I’m sure much to the dismay of my wife. The dog has become “puppy pony”, the cat “kitten pony”. I can’t explain it.

Figured I would go right ahead and post a second drawing in one day. This one was fun. Part of a larger very wide single drawing, it is the first companion to 100 Drawings number 14- Eternal Regret, with one remaining. When you line the three of them up together, you’ll see the continuous background for all three. I’ve been experimenting more with textures and backgrounds lately, as a great exercise to just paint freely without concern for the figure. I may be angling towards more abstract experimentation in this vein, it remains to be seen. What I do know is that I like it, which is historically, well, rather weird for me. Layering, playing with textures, pushing depth and flatness to extremes along with overlap, all good times. Expect more like this in the future.

So I’ve scanned a bunch of recently finished drawings, trying to get back on track for the 100 Drawings project. Many have been culled from the “stack”- the everlasting pile of artwork that has recently been given a box to live in. These drawings (most of which never see the light of day, because I lack the discipline to finish them in a timely manner, and ultimately move on) are finally seeing an end with some careful cropping, reworking and experimentation that I’ve been extremely satisfied with. I imagine it’s what people feel like after they’ve rescued an abandoned item only to clean it up, fix it and get some beautiful use out of it.

Of course, I could be completely wrong about that. Enjoy Number 21- Ink, watercolor and acrylic on paper.